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Battle of Iota Zulu
The Battle of Iota Zulu was a brutal battle on Iota Zulu between the Eru-Judian Commonwealth's Iota Zulu Armed Forces (IZAF) and Innovaganix Corporate Army ground forces. Regional Innovaganix command sought to cause mass civilian casualties as retribution for perceived disloyalty. Colonial leadership, on the other hand, was yearning for independence, and appalled by the general direction of Innovaganix policy in Pel's Aurora. Background After a series of raids on colonies throughout Pel's Aurora by warlords, notably Red Death, Innovaganix Regional Command, under Deon Banner, had created a system of permanent local garrisons at each of the colonies under their influence called Carapace. In addition to protecting the colonists, however, Carapace was used to keep them in line, and garrisons were authorised to use weapons of mass destruction to this end. Iota Zulu was at first a colony under Tritach, but the corporation's regional influence had collapsed some months prior, and all of the colonies under its control were taken over by Innovaganix, and thus received Carapace "protection" at the genesis of the programme. In the wake of Operation Shellshock, Innovaganix Regional Command withdrew the Starships it had in orbit of Iota Zulu, and alleged that the colony's deputy, Hieronymus Ingran, had been involved in the raids, citing as evidence the presence of a Heavy Star Frigate registered to the colony. At the time, colony leadership denied the allegations, claiming that the frigate had been bought and paid for, but never delivered. Tensions ran high, not helped by the discovery of the Spades virus created by Innovaganix, and IZAF was kept in high readiness. Less than a month after Shellshock, the situation escalated. Opposing Sides Iota Zulu deployed most of the 1st "Ibutho" Division - about 8000 soldiers plus vehicle crews. One regiment was not available, as it was stationed on Gschenk. Further, several centuries of the Company of the Watch, as well as one regiment of alien auxiliaries, totalling at most 2000 soldiers. These troops were rather well equipped and trained, however lacked actual combat experience, and had somewhat limited ammunition. They had the advantage of having a handful of Tankettes and IFVs at their disposal, but fuel too was scarce, as summer had heavily disrupted methanol collection. Further, the anti-orbit coil cannons of the Orbital Forts were used as heavy artillery, and the Iota Zulu Dragonships were in orbit, but of limited effectiveness due to their primarily laser-armed nature. Carapace forces consisted of II Brigade, 5000 soldiers, who though very experienced veterans, were somewhat less well equipped than their opponents, and lacked any anti-armour capability. Lead up Early in Evening Star, a large group of Carapace soldiers attempted to leave Turtle Base and the domed city of Wetardom, claiming to be under orders to scout a suitable location for a communications beacon, but in fact aiming to construct a Pulser in order to activate Spades within the population and destroy them. Colony leadership was suspicious of their motives, and feigned an excuse to keep the corporate soldiers from leaving. This initial plan foiled, the occupier's commander instead ordered a different biological agent to be spread, and on the 10th of Evening Star small groups of troopers began to move into the town carrying boxes. Almost half of the brigade had left the base. The colonial police force soon became aware of this, however, critically, were not aware of the number of those who had left. Under orders from the deputy, the Company of the Watch approached several groups of soldiers and ordered them to return to Turtle Base. Instead, these soldiers immediately began to set up wind machines, and seeing this the Watchmen opened fire, immediately calling for assistance. Marshal John Broomhall immediately deployed the army. Deputy Ingran evacuated himself and his family into orbit, after ordering all civilians to confine themselves in their homes and wear gasmasks, fearing the cruel bioweapons of Innovaganix. Battle Most of the IZAF troops were immediately sent to surround Turtle Base, and having encircled it, they began a devastating barrage of artillery - coil cannons and mortars - which would last for three days. Only the 5th Regiment and the Auxiliary troops were sent to assist the Company of the Watch, as IZAF leadership still assumed at this time the majority of the enemy remained in Turtle Base. They quickly found and destroyed or captured several small elements from the dispersed Carapace units. As the scattered Innovaganix soldiers in the city realized their predicament they forced their way into civilian homes and turned them into strongholds, and before too long entire neighbourhoods fell under Innovaganix control. This stalled the IZAF advance and led to firefights being long and drawn out at first, with IZAF leadership unsure about what to do in order to minimize civilian casualties, but eventually, Marshal Broomhall decided that swift and decisive attacks would in the end result in fewer civilian casualties than slow and meticulous planning could. The Carapace brigade's weapons were insufficient against IZAF's armoured vehicles wherever they appeared, and these moved with total impunity and were greatly successful in pushing back the corporate troops. Although scattered, the Innovaganix position was well defended, and even once surrounded each group seemed bent on fighting to the death rather than surrendering, though many prisoners were nonetheless made. The battle raged through the streets throughout the night, with devastating losses on both sides, but Carapace continuously lost ground. By sunrise of the 11th, there remained only a single compound controlled by Innovaganix, held by 400 survivors, with all the others who had entered the city being dead or captured. At this point, IZAF's supply situation had become rather bleak. Most of the vehicles had no fuel available, and ammunition was beginning to run out. The Council had notified the colony's industrial facilities, and ammunition was being produced at best possible speed. A 3-phase assault plan was drawn up, aimed to line up with the waves of the supply train, and alternating fresh regiments. Immediately at dawn, the strongly diminished 5th Regiment led the primary assault, but suffered some setbacks. Without the cover provided by their vehicles, their enemies were able to pin down the attacking soldiers with machine guns, and exact a heavy toll upon them. With some losses however, several squads were able to bypass the beaten zone with marksmanship, underslung grenade launchers, and manoeuvre, and come into close contact with the corporate troops. For the better part of the morning, the fighting was savage and close-range, with soldiers within earshot of one another. By midday, the first phase of the attack was complete, and several of the outlying homes of the area were seized as a staging point, with many civilians being rescued at this time, but in the process of this, 5th Regiment was effectively destroyed as a combat unit, suffering three quarters of their unit killed in action. A fresh regiment of reinforcements had finally been drawn from the siege, however, and as planned began the second phase of the attack immediately. Carapace troops at this point also began to run very low on ammunition, and with the resupply, IZAF forces considerably outgunned and outnumbered them. The second phase went very well, and before the sun set all outlying buildings were captured, reducing the carapace troops down to a single building. As most of the second phase's troops pulled back to the siege of Turtle Base, they were replaced by another, who prepared the final assault, but in that moment about 100 surviving Innovaganix troops started fanning out from the house with their hands up, and were taken into custody with no further resistance. With the battle of the city won, there were still the remains of Turtle Base left to deal with, and so after resting for the night and keeping the artillery bombardment up, IZAF forces stormed the crushed ruins at sunrise on the 12th of Evening Star, using the very last of their fuel reserve to bring up some more vehicles for the final attack. Over half of the Innovaganix troops within the base had been killed by the bombardment, and though the survivors fought fiercely, they were heavily outnumbered and most were swiftly gunned down, until around 300 survivors surrendered at last. The ruins were searched, and several more wounded Carapace soldiers were recovered. Aftermath In the battle within the city, over 800 Innovaganix troops were captured, mostly due to how scattered the had been, allowing small groups to be easily cut off. A little less than 400 further prisoners were made during the clearing of Turtle Base. All prisoners were interred in the Gschenk Prison Complex, and by all accounts treated exceptionally well, with all injuries being treated by the highly qualified colonial medical personnel once the more serious injuries among IZAF and the civilian population had been seen to, to the point where none of the prisoners died of injury. The Carapace force was therefore completely destroyed, with all members of II Brigade being killed or captured, but the victory had been a very costly one for the colonial forces, with 2000-3000 soldiers, and only slightly fewer civilians, confirmed killed. As many soldiers as had died had also been wounded, and there were many thousands of cases of injuries among civilians, though many of these were not severe. Over the course of the next few weeks after the battle, many homes had to be rebuilt, and the remains of Turtle Base were turned into a Memorial and burial place to the fallen. All the dead were buried there, with even the Innovaganix soldiers receiving their own corner, and a further memorial was built at the site of the final confrontation within the city. Deputy Ingran personally visited a great number of the wounded troops, and held a speech explaining to his people why he ordered the attack, and that Innovaganix was the origin of a sickening bioweapon capable of wiping out planets, or more - the Spades virus. The Battle became a central part of Iota Zulu's social consciousness, and directly led to the foundation of the Eru-Judian Commonwealth, a state that declared itself free of corporate influence, and a member of The Free Systems. Beyond the strictly local scale, the Battle of Iota Zulu and Operation Shellshock were also among the first acts in what would become the Innovaganix Containment War, which would spread far beyond Pel's Aurora. Category:Eru-Judian articles Category:Battles Category:Ground battles